RAF Tibenham

RAF Tibenham RAF Tivetshall RFC Tibenham USAAF Station 124
Located Near Diss, Norfolk, England
Postwar photo of Tibenham Airfield, England
RAF Tibenham
Coordinates	52°28′N 1°10′E / 52.46°N 1.16°E / 52.46; 1.16
Type	Royal Air Force station
Site information
Controlled by	Royal Flying Corps  United States Army Air Forces  Royal Air Force
Site history
Built	1916 (1916) and 1941
Built by	W. & C. French Ltd.
In use	1916-1920 1942-1959
Battles/wars	European Theatre of World War II Air Offensive, Europe July 1942 - May 1945
Garrison information
Garrison	Eighth Air Force RAF Maintenance Command
Occupants	445th Bombardment Group

Royal Air Force Station Tibenham or more simply RAF Tibenham is a former Royal Air Force station located 13.5 miles (21.7 km) southwest of Norwich and 5.8 miles (9.3 km) north of Diss, Norfolk, England.

Tibenham was used as a Royal Flying Corps landing ground during the First World War and was known as RFC Tibenham.

No. 51 Squadron RFC and 75 Sqn RFC allegedly used the landing ground.

The airfield was built up during 1941/42 as a standard heavy bomber airfield with a main runway 6,000 ft long (1,800 m) (03-21) and two secondary runways 4,200 feet (1,300 m) in length (08-26, 15-33). It had an enclosed perimeter track containing 36 frying-pan type hardstands and fourteen loops. Two T-2 hangars were constructed on the eastern side of the airfield and adjacent to the technical site. Accommodations were constructed for about 2,900 personnel. Tibenham was assigned USAAF designation Station 124.

The first American units at Tibenham were the personnel of two Martin B-26 Marauder squadrons of the Twelfth Air Force 320th Bombardment Group (Medium) which were en route to La Senia Airfield, Algeria in November 1942. They had no aircraft and their stay was a matter of only a few days. During the summer of 1943, Tibenham was assigned to the 2d Bombardment Wing (later the 2d Air Division) and was used by a few Consolidated B-24 Liberator training aircraft, but it was not until November that the first combat units and their aircraft arrived.

Tibenham became home to the 445th Bombardment Group (Heavy) of the United States Army Air Forces Eighth Air Force. The 445th arrived from Sioux City Army Air Base, Iowa on 4 November 1943. The 445th was assigned to the 2nd Combat Bombardment Wing, and the group tail code was a "Circle-F".